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Love is Overrated/ Chapter One
Slight spoiler alert- this chapter is now taking place from Mirror Malcolm's POV. Just thought I should clarify. 'Chapter One' Present Day, Prime Universe... Malcolm Reed had never really cared for life. Especially for his own life in general. Life seemed to feel the same way about him. After all, it always liked throw shit at him. But no matter what, somehow the soldier managed to pull through- whether he was fighting on the battlefield or in his quarters trying to get over a massive hangover. Malcolm was sure he was going to pull this stunt off. It was what he did, after all. It was his reputation to overcome the impossible. He never thought that the whole thing would backfire on him. Damn Gorn. Damn Enterprise. Damn me and my whole life. He was sure he was going to die, that this was going to be the end. He was wrong. As Malcolm drifted somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, he was vaguely aware of his environment. Sometimes he heard voices- sometimes harsh and angry, other times soft and soothing. Sometimes he heard a strange beeping that seemed to align itself with his unsteady heartbeat. Sometimes he felt another hand stroking his. On more than one occasion, something soft brushed his lips. Malcolm almost became content with his new existence. He was okay with being on the edge of oblivion forever. However, it seemed that this wonderful world of nothingness was coming to an end. Malcolm's periods of being on the edge of consciousness became longer and more frequent. He knew he was waking up, and he didn't want to. Just let me go. Let me die already, Malcolm's mind pleaded desperately. But no one heard him. And then, one day, it happened. Malcolm's eyes snapped open, his senses on high alert. "Welcome back, Lieutenant Reed," a familiar voice greeted pleasantly. Malcolm pushed himself up with his elbows, half-lying half-sitting on the biobed. "Doctor Phlox," he croaked out painfully, his heart racing. God, what happened? "Yes, it's me," Phlox replied, sounding slightly amused. "How are you feeling?" What the hell? Malcolm thought. Then another man came barging into Sickbay. "How is he?" It was clearly Trip. Malcolm stared, wondering what the heck was going on. Where was Trip's facial scarring? Why was Phlox acting so pleasant all of a sudden? The questions just went on and on. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" Phlox gestured to the now-awake Malcolm. "Mal!" Trip hurried over to Malcolm and before the latter could even reply, the engineer had already locked lips with him. Malcolm stiffened in response. For a second, time seemed to stop. The soldier didn't know what to think- his mind was a complete blank. All he knew was that for reasons beyond his comprehension, Trip was kissing him. Trip must have sensed Malcolm's discomfort, since after a moment he pulled away from the smaller man. "Mal? You okay?" Malcolm stared at Trip uncomprehendingly, trying to get his thoughts in working order. After several seconds, he sputtered, "What in the bloody hell?!!" ~ ~ ~ Jonathan Archer was definitely not expecting to be woken up at two in the morning in the first place. He definitely wasn't also expecting to hear that Malcolm was awake. The man had been in a coma for two straight months, so Archer had begun to doubt that the security officer would ever wake up. So naturally at first Archer was very happy to know that Malcolm was awake. But when Phlox explained the rather strange situation to him, Archer became... disconcerted to say the least. And now here he was in Sickbay, at two in the morning, trying to make sense of all this. He should have gotten a cup or two of coffee first. Malcolm looked back and forth between Trip, Archer, and Phlox, awaiting an explanation. "Is anyone going to tell me why I'm in Sickbay and why Commander Tucker kissed me?! And what the hell is wrong with your uniforms?!" "Mal, calm down," Trip pleaded, trying to settle the other man down. "Don't you get friendly with me, Tucker!" Malcolm snarled, getting up off the biobed. "We both know how much you want to snap my neck!" Archer's hand cautiously rested on his phase pistol. "Lieutenant Reed, stand down," Archer ordered. "Lieutenant?!" Malcolm practically shrieked. "Oh, so you decided to give me a promotion, now did you? Was it because you were guilty about that blasted suicide mission you lead us on?! That damn alien almost killed us all!" "Malcolm, what are you talking about?" Archer asked, his hand still resting cautiously on his phase pistol. "So you're pretending that it never happened? I see how it is! Well maybe this will jog your memory, Commander Archer!" Malcolm threw a sloppy punch at Archer. Due to still feeling the fatigue of his coma, Malcolm's coordination was way off. The Starship captain sidestepped the attack and at the same time whipped out his phase pistol. He shot Malcolm with it, the thin red beam of energy stunning him. The pissed-off Brit slumped to the floor, unconscious. Archer and Phlox shared a look. Trip could only look on with horror. "What did you do?!" "I just stunned him," Archer replied. "He'll be fine. Phlox... what the hell just happened?" "I'm not quite certain, to be honest with you," Phlox replied, while hoisting Malcolm back on the biobed with Trip's help. "Some human patients have had similar reactions when coming out of comas. What you and Commander Tucker just saw may have been the result of Lieutenant Reed's dreams." "Dreams?" "Even coma patients sometimes have dreams, Captain," Phlox told him. "It's possible that Lieutenant Reed created a dreamscape. He may have thought that the events that took place within it were real." Archer considered this a moment, his expression grim. "I don't think so. Something tells me there's more to this than we realise. Phlox, get some restraints. I don't think this is going to be the last time Malcolm decides he wants to hit someone." "Captain, I'm not sure if that is a wise decisi-" "Just do it," Archer interrupted. "Cap'n, I agree with Phlox," Trip spoke up. "I mean, what if Mal hurts himself tryin' to get free?" "Then either try to get him to calm down or knock him out again," Archer replied. "Either way, he's staying on that biobed until we figure out just what's going on." ~ ~ ~ Malcolm- who was restrained to the biobed as Archer had ordered- glared at Phlox, watching his every move like an angry hawk. Trip sat on the biobed across from Malcolm, as silent as a statue. "You don't have to watch everything I do, Lieutenant," Phlox told Malcolm, having grown tired of his constant stare. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so a long time ago." "That's funny," Malcolm replied, his tone the exact opposite of amused. "That's really, really funny, Doctor. As I seem to recall, you thoroughly enjoyed hurting people. You even had Commander Tucker tortured once." Trip and Phlox shared a confused look. "What're ya goin' on 'bout, Mal?" Trip asked, looking back at the restrained man. "Phlox never did that to me." Malcolm glared at Trip, his eyes burning with hatred. "Whatever. It's not like I care." His gaze lingered on the side of Trip's face. "What happened to your scar?" "Scar?" "From the delta radiation, you bloody idiot!" Malcolm snapped. Trip flinched, evidently having not expected such a violent reaction. "Mal... what happened to you?" Trip looked at Malcolm with a sad expression. "Why are ya actin' like this? It... it isn't you." "Oh?" Malcolm hissed. "And what would you know about me? Hm? Tell me." "I know that at your first prom, your date ditched ya to go dance with the captain of your football team," Trip explained. "You were so ashamed ya went and hid in the alley outside your gym. Cried your eyes out and then went home. You never told your parents cuz you weren't exactly close. I'm the only person ya ever told." Malcolm's eyes widened in astonishment. Yes, that did happen to him at his first prom. And it was true that he never told his parents, or anyone else, about the incident. But he never remembered telling Trip that. And yet, he knows. "You love pineapple," Trip continued, "but you're allergic to the bromine in it so ya get allergy injections so you can tolerate it." That was also true. Malcolm stared at Trip with astonishment. "You never were close to your family," Trip added. "You never saw eye to eye with 'em on a lotta things." Malcolm was silent a moment, thinking over all the things Trip had said. "...How...?" "Commander, may I have a moment?" Phlox asked from the other side of the room. "I'll be right back," Trip told Malcolm, his voice soft. The engineer made his way to Phlox, who was staring at a computer screen. "What can I do for ya, Doc?" "I'm afraid I have found something... disconcerting," Phlox replied. "I'll review over my findings again, to be absolutely certain, but if I'm right... well, let's just say you shouldn't get your hopes up, Commander." Trip's heart skipped a beat at that. "What'ya mean?" "I... think it's best if I double check my theory," Phlox said vaguely. Both his words and tone were ominous. And that only worried Trip even more.